Usually when I get new bike parts I have to go through a period of rationalization: Do I really need this? Will it really improve my ride? Will it make me faster? Will it motivate me to ride more? Do I get this, or buy something nice for the wife?

Unfortunately for my wife, the Reynolds AM 26” wheels are staying. They might put a dent in the bank account, but they really do offer a lot for the money, especially considering they’re several hundred dollars less than some other carbon rims out there, such as ENVE AM and Easton Haven (both at about $2,500).

With tubeless-ready tires, I was able to drop a pound off of my Pivot Mach 5.7 without compromising the handling bit. In fact, the handling of my bike improved noticeably.

These wheels are seriously stiff. I never thought my previous hoops were that flexy until I put these on. I actually had to get used to riding with these wheels, since initially, I was over steering in places where my old alloy DT Swiss 1450 wheels would tend to flex a bit. And because they are so stiff, I can really drive these wheels into a corner and expect the bike to go exactly where I want it.

The drop in rolling weight was noticeable. While they aren’t the lightest carbon wheels out there (1,590 g per set), you have to consider that these are seriously light for being fully capable all-mountain wheels. A comparable set of alloy wheels, with a rim of similar width, would be heavier by 300 grams or more. And while the offerings from ENVE are a bit lighter (1,372 to 1,554 g, depending on hubs), they also cost considerably more.

These wheels are cross-country light with the features you want in an all-mountain rim. The rim itself is 29.2 mm wide, perfect for running fatter tires at lower pressures. This alone gives you a big performance advantage over a skinny rim. There was a noticeable performance gain running 2.25 tires on these wheels versus my skinnier alloy rims (DT XR 400) because of the larger contact patch.

Adam Vincent, on Reynolds AM Carbon Wheels.

Going Tubeless

These wheels are easily converted to tubeless using the provided blue rim tape. The tape goes on easily and tubeless valve stems are included. Installing my WTB tubeless ready tires was much easier than on my old wheels with a Stan’s kit. Though I did have to go back and tighten the valves a little bit, the tires seated easily and have held air better than any other tubeless conversion I have tried.